Influential American man snatches baby kangaroo from mother to leave Australia
An influential American person left Australia on Friday after the government announced she was reviewing her visa, and she posted a video of her snatching her baby bag from her mother.
Sam Jones, who described herself as an “outdoor lover and hunter”, has been privately owned after being widely denounced as a video on Thursday.
“In Australia, there’s never been a better day to be a baby kangaroo in Australia,” Home Minister Tony Burke said in a statement. Government officials confirmed that Jones was voluntarily set out.
In the video, Jones, Montana lifts up Joey’s front legs in the darkness on the roadside and flees her mother.
“I caught a baby bag,” she said as a man filmed the laughter. After a few seconds, she returned the wombat to the side of the road.
Burke said earlier Friday that her visa conditions were under review to determine whether immigration laws were violated. “I can’t wait for Australia to see the back of this person, and I don’t want her to come back,” he said in a statement received by the Associated Press.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese added his voice to his criticism.
“It was just anger to take out a baby bag from the mother, which obviously caused the mother’s trouble,” he said.
“I suggest that for this so-called influencer, maybe she might try some other Australian animals. Pick up a baby alligator from the mother and see how you got there. Taking another animal can fight back instead of stealing the baby from the mother.”
Jones also used the Samantha Straable name Samantha Straable to close her social media channels into the news and could not be contacted for comment on Friday.
The Kangaroo seems to be a regular Kangaroo, also known as the naked nose Waxter. This is a protected marsupial found only in Australia.
Yolandi Vermaak, founder of the animal care charity Wombat Rescue, said separating young kangaroos from their mothers poses a risk that the mother would reject her offspring.
“My biggest concern is that we don’t actually see moms and babies reunite. When she put it down, it looks disorientated. It’s turned to where the mother last met. So we don’t know if moms and babies really find each other,” Vermaak said.
Vermaak also called on Jones to say where the kangaroo was after the videotape showed Joey’s skin disease. “The baby already has Mange, it’s a matter of time, and it dies, so it’s important for us to find a place where this situation is and get the baby and its mom to treat as soon as possible,” Vermaak said.
